


Secret Santa is Mean

by magicsophicorn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 05:03:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4947748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/pseuds/magicsophicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina and Ruby get each others names for Secret Santa, but one of the gifts given is not very kind. Written for Red Queen Week Day 2 - Angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Santa is Mean

The closer the time came, the more nervous Ruby got. She wasn't normally a nervous kind of person, but this was different, this was _important_.

It was Christmas Eve and half the town was crammed into Granny's. Ruby couldn't seem to take two steps without tripping over a dwarf. Snow was reaching fever pitch levels of excitement. She had always loved Christmas, but this year she had decided to organise Storybrooke's very first Secret Santa, and now that the time had come for everyone to open their gifts she was doing a pretty good impression of a kid in a candy store who's just been told the whole lot's theirs.

Snow's feelings about the whole thing were the complete opposite of Ruby's, who was wringing her hands in anxiety. She'd drawn Regina's name in the Secret Santa and had therefore spent weeks trying to find the most perfect gift possible because, well, she really liked Regina. As in, _like_ , liked Regina. And yeah, maybe she knew deep down that buying Regina the perfect Christmas gift wasn't going to make the Mayor instantly swoon into her arms (especially since she wouldn't even know who the gift was from), but that didn't mean she hadn't fantasised about that exact scenario once or twice, or every day for the past month. It couldn't hurt to try though, right?

Suffice to say Ruby felt under a lot of pressure. She had done the logical thing and asked Henry for advice. He'd immediately squashed her original idea of nice jewellery, he said it wasn't original or special enough. (She hadn't told him why she was so intent on getting the perfect gift, but she'd had a feeling he'd known anyway based on that comment, so the fact that he was trying to help was a good sign, right?)

After an agonising few weeks she'd finally come up with an idea that Henry declared was absolutely perfect. It had then taken another week of sweet talking (including a heck of a lot of cleavage thrusting) and pretty much half her life savings (which was a _tiny_ bit over Snow's $50 limit, but that was completely beside the point), but she had finally come away victorious with the perfect gift for Regina - a lifetime membership to Storybrooke's riding stables, including her own key to the building so that she could come and go as she pleased, and wouldn't have to go when other people were there if she didn't want to. It was still a bit of a risky gift, after all she knew Regina hadn't been riding since the Enchanted Forest, but Henry assured her that she loved it so much that after one ride she would definitely want to go all the time again.

"Okay everyone!" Snow clapped her hands and attempted to make herself heard above the din, to no avail.

Ruby rolled her eyes, stuck two fingers in her mouth, and whistled loud enough to be heard out on the street. All the chatter immediately died.

"Thank you Ruby. Okay, now that I have your attention why don't we begin? How about we each open our gifts in turn and once you've opened it I'll tell you who it was from!"

There were a few giggles and coughs from around the room.

"I know you're bad at keeping secrets Snow," Regina said icily, "but isn't the whole point of Secret Santa that it remain, well, secret?"

There were a few more giggles as Snow visible deflated.

"Why don't we all just open our gifts at the same time?" Emma piped up, "and then if anyone really wants to know who gave it to them they can ask you?"

Snow brightened up at that and nodded enthusiastically.

The sound of tearing wrapping paper instantly filled the room, followed by oohs and ahhs and chuckles at the inevitable comedy gifts.

Ruby carefully unwrapped the box in her hands (she'd never been a paper ripper) and frowned at its contents. Inside was a dog collar, complete with a tag with her name on it.

She felt tears well in her eyes and her cheeks burn in embarrassment. It was probably meant to be a joke but she didn't find it very funny. She always said she didn't care what people thought of her, but the truth was she really did. The fact that someone in the town saw her as a dog to be collared really hurt. She just couldn't think who would do something like that.

She continued to stare at her 'gift' as Snow bounded over to her side.

"What did you get Rub… Oh…"

Ruby looked up at Snow, who looked out across the room with a pained expression on her face. Ruby followed her line of sight. Regina. Snow was looking at Regina.

The tears in Ruby's eyes fell freely then. Of course. How could she have ever been so stupid as to think that Regina would ever feel anything for her? Anything other than disdain, that is.

Unable to bear the merriment going on around her any longer, Ruby fled the room in tears.

\-------------------------------

Ruby didn't hear the soft knock at her door over the sound of her sobbing. She didn't even notice that Regina had entered the room until she was stood at the end of her bed.

"What are you doing here? Haven't you humiliated me enough? Come to laugh at me crying?" Ruby spat, furiously wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. She hated that Regina was seeing her like this almost as much as she hated that Regina had been the cause of it.

"Ruby please, hear me out. I came to apologise, and to try to explain myself, not that that excuses what I did, which was awful, but I just need you to hear this, please?"

Ruby studied Regina's face. She actually looked almost as upset as Ruby felt. Despite her pride telling her not to, Ruby nodded for her to continue. Regina sighed deeply.

"I… I was afraid, of being ridiculed. I overheard Leroy and some of the others joking about who would be unlucky enough to get The Evil Queen for Secret Santa, and laughing about all the horrible things that they would buy me if it turned out to be them… So I just assumed that whoever got me would give me something awful, and so I thought I would beat them to it, to protect myself. But then when I drew your name I didn't know what to do, because I… I didn't want to hurt you. I actually bought you a different gift to start with, a real gift, but then the fear won out and I gave you… that… instead. I know it can't make up for what I did, but here, I want you to have this. This is what I got you originally."

Regina placed a small box gently at the foot of the bed and turned to leave.

"It was from me," Ruby blurted out, and Regina paused and turned back to face her. "Your gift, I mean. I drew your name in the Secret Santa. It was from me."

Regina's hand flew to her mouth as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"Oh Ruby… That was… It's the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me, and it must have cost you so much. I… Thank you, Ruby, and god I am so so sorry for what I did. If there's any way at all that I can ever make it up to you…"

Ruby gave her a watery smile. It still fucking hurt that Regina had given her that, but at least it didn’t feel quite so personal anymore, knowing what had motivated it. A part of her wanted to rip Leroy and the others to shreds for making Regina feel like that in the first place.

"Stay while I open your gift? Please?" Ruby whispered. Regina nodded and walked back over to perch on the end of the bed, wiping at her eyes with the pad of her thumb as she did so.

Ruby picked up the little box and began to undo the silver ribbon wrapped around it. Inside was a necklace, a delicate silver chain with two tiny pendants - a silver wolf and a crescent moon. It was beautiful.

"It's enchanted," Regina said softly, "so that you can leave town without losing your memories. I know you want to see the world…"

Ruby lifted the necklace from the box and held it to her neck, turning as she did so, so that her back was towards Regina.

"Would you mind?" Ruby said, and brushed her hair to the side. Regina took the ends of the necklace from Ruby's hands and fastened it. Ruby felt shivers run down her spine as Regina's fingers brushed the back of her neck. Even after the day's events she still wanted nothing more than to be with Regina, she couldn't deny that to herself.

"Thank you Regina, it's perfect." Ruby said, turning back to face her once more. "And I think I know how you can make things up to me."

"Anything, Ruby. I really am so sorry."

"Will you go on a trip with me sometime? Not anywhere too far, just, I don't know, Boston or New York or something? I… I'd really like the chance to get to know you properly."

The wait for Regina to reply felt like an eternity to Ruby. She felt like she'd just laid herself bare, even though she hadn't really even said that much.

"I'd like that too," Regina eventually said, her smile soft, and Ruby felt hope explode in her chest.

Perhaps there was a chance for them after all.


End file.
